SHOULD SOUND BE INVISIBLE?

Over the years, I’ve heard various Film & TV sound editors say the way they know they've done a good job is if the audience doesn’t notice their work. Of course, that makes sense for TV & Film where the image is the dominant force. Sound is there to support the images which is the dominant medium.

When we turn to audio stories, like podcasts, I consider it a major missed opportunity if the audience doesn't notice the sound.

Unlike in TV/Film, sound IS the image in audio stories. To treat sound as subordinate is ridiculous because sound IS the very medium itself.

If you were thinking sound should be in service to the story or writing, that’s still a bit myopic in my opinion. Of course, all the crafts serve the story - that’s table stakes. But when a story moves across different media, it is the story-telling that should adapt to take full advantage of that media's unique capabilities.

The story-telling adapts to the medium.

This is why you wouldn’t publish a screenplay as a novel. Or treat a novel as the screenplay. The story-telling and writing adapt to meet the medium.

Audio is simply another medium for which the writing and story-telling must adapt.

If you're choosing to tell a story as an audio story, you should be open to exploring the uniqueness of the audio medium.

“In audio story-telling, the sound isn’t serving a greater form - it IS the form. ”

When we adopt this view, we are well on our way to using sound to its full potential. The good news is I’m here to help!

I’ve found it most productive when my role is treated more like a cinematographer than a film sound editor. While I use many of the tools and techniques of film sound, the purpose and intent are more like cinematography as sound is how we create our images. That imagery should be rich and vivid and sparkle with life. It should enchant and delight the audience as any character might.

Sound is the stylized layer that builds the world our characters inhabit and how we feel about it from moment to moment. Sound Design is to audio stories as cinematography is to film.

Approach sound in that way and you’ll be amazed at what you can create.